Richard D. Todd, the Blanche F. Ittleson Professor of Psychiatry, 56
Richard D. Todd, Ph.D., M.D., the Blanche F. Ittleson Professor of Psychiatry and director of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the School of Medicine, died of leukemia Friday, Aug. 22, 2008. He was 56.
Todd was an internationally known expert on the influences of genetics and environment on psychiatric illness in children, addressing such disorders as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism-spectrum disorder and affective disorders in childhood. Todd and his colleagues published more than 150 peer-reviewed papers during his 25-year scientific career.
“Richard was an outstanding clinician, teacher and researcher,” says Charles F. Zorumski, M.D., the Samuel B. Guze Professor and head of the Department of Psychiatry. “His work on the genetics of childhood psychiatric disorders has had and will continue to have a major impact on the field. Under his leadership, we developed one of the premier Divisions of Child Psychiatry in this country, a division that reflects Richard’s commitment to clear thinking and high-quality science. More than that, Richard was a great friend, mentor and colleague. He will be deeply missed.”
Todd was born in Oklahoma and did his undergraduate training at Vanderbilt University. He earned a doctorate in biology at the University of Texas at Dallas and then a medical degree at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He completed his residency in psychiatry at Stanford University Medical School and a child psychiatry fellowship at WUSTL and St. Louis Children’s Hospital in 1986. He then joined the School of Medicine faculty.
Over the course of his career, Todd received many important awards and honors, including being listed in America’s Top Doctors since 2001 and Best Doctors in America since 2002. He also is the 2008 winner of the Elaine Schlosser Lewis Award from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry for research on attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
He is survived by his wife of 28 years, Karen O’Malley, Ph.D., professor of anatomy and neurobiology at the School of Medicine; his son, Lucas F. Todd; and his daughter, Anne M. O’Malley of St. Louis. He also is survived by his parents, Morris S. and Martha A. (Molly) Todd of Dallas and Tincup, Colo.; his brother, Robert M. Todd of Dallas; and his sister, Ruth E. Todd of Bellevue, Wash.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the William Greenleaf Eliot Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid, St. Louis, MO 63110, or the CHADS (Communities Healing Adolescent Depression & Suicide) Coalition, P.O. Box 510528, St. Louis, MO 63151.
Ralph D. Feigin, former professor of pediatrics, 70
Ralph D. Feigin, M.D., a world-renowned pediatrician and infectious disease specialist, died Thursday, Aug. 14, 2008, of lung cancer in Houston. He was 70.
A native of New York City, Feigin received a medical degree from Boston University in 1962. After an internship and residency at Boston City Hospital and at Massachusetts General Hospital, Feigin completed two years of research with the U.S. Army Research Institute of Infectious Diseases.
He joined the School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics faculty in 1968 as an instructor and was named professor in 1974. He was director of the Division of Infectious Diseases in the pediatrics department from 1973-77 and of the Bacteriology and Serology labs at St. Louis Children’s Hospital from 1972-77.
Feigin left the School of Medicine in 1977 for Baylor College of Medicine, where he was appointed chairman of the Department of Pediatrics and physician-in-chief at Texas Children’s Hospital. During his 30-year tenure there, he transformed the college’s pediatrics department from a small department into one of the nation’s largest. He trained more than 2,000 pediatricians and pediatric specialists, served as president and CEO of Baylor College of Medicine from 1996-2003 and as interim executive director of Texas Children’s Hospital from 1987-89.
Feigin is survived by his wife, Judith; his children Susan Feigin Harris, Michael Feigin and Debra Feigin Sukin; and six grandchildren.
Sandler, 65
Arthur M. Sandler, instructor in philosophy in Arts & Sciences from 1967-1970, died Saturday, Aug. 9, of a sudden illness. He was 65.